The Vampire Diaries was home to many big baddies throughout its eight-season run, but it's hard to compare any of their villains to the first and arguably most beloved, Katherine Pierce. Katherine never failed to live up to her reputation as someone who always had a plan and was always willing to do absolutely anything to survive, and she was never shy about admitting that she was truly, unabashedly cruel either.
However, there were moments where Katherine let her inner humanity shine through, and there were even the occasional moments of kindness that she showed towards others as well. So when did she prove that she was the villain, and when did she actually do something heroic?
Proved She Was The Villain: When She Used Everyone
One of the constant keys to Katherine's continued success was that she basically manipulated and used everyone around her, all the time. She didn't care who she had to kill, coerce, or force in order to get what she wanted, she would do it and she always had someone else play the sacrificial lamb to save her own skin.
Katherine is clearly a villain because hundreds if not thousands of people would still be alive if it weren't for her machinations.
Was Actually The Hero: When She Gave Elijah The Cure
So, the act of simply giving Elijah the cure wasn't heroic in itself, because while it is obviously an insanely valuable prize, it's not as if Katherine wanted it for anything besides leverage, and she would have done anything to avoid taking it herself.
However, this was one of the few instances that Katherine acted selflessly and gave up something that was of value to her because someone she loved wanted it more.
Proved She Was The Villain: When She Became Queen of Hell
On the one hand, the fact that Katherine was sent to Hell and then managed to become the queen of Hell is extremely impressive.
However, the fact that she managed to outdo every other horrible monster in Hell and ascend the ranks so quickly seems like a very obvious indication that she is the absolute best at being the worst, making her arguably the most devious villain in the history of the show.
Was Actually The Hero: When She Fought Klaus
While Katherine really only rebelled against Klaus because she was fighting to save her own life, it just so happens that fighting against Klaus also meant she was fighting for the greater good.
It took a lot of gumption to go on the run and turn herself into a vampire to begin with, and then helping the Mystic Falls gang battle against the Original hybrid was still Katherine fighting on the side of the good guys.
Proved She Was The Villain: When She Tried To Destroy Mystic Falls
Katherine certainly wasn't the first villain to come up with the idea of completely destroying the entirety of Mystic Falls, but she came dangerously close to succeeding.
Katherine didn't just manage to conquer Hell, but she wanted to use her newfound power as queen to burn Mystic Falls to the ground, and while it's understandable that she had an ax to grind with a few of its residents, razing the entire town in revenge is a bit over the top.
Was Actually The Hero: When She Helped Stefan Recover
At the end of season 4, Stefan was locked in a safe, thrown into the water, and left to repeatedly drown for months. Understandably, when he finally escaped, he was not handling things well.
With Damon and Elena's romance in full bloom, Stefan didn't have a lot of people to rely on either. But when he couldn't cope with his horrific experience, Katherine worked with him and tried to help him recover from his trauma.
Proved She Was The Villain: When She Stole Elena's Body
Katherine was pretty obsessive about Elena, and she couldn't stand the fact that her doppelganger somehow managed to have everything that Katherine wanted.
So, when Katherine was faced with imminent doom and could either let herself die or jump into the body of another, she obviously chose the latter. But, she didn't just want Elena's body, she wanted to create a perfect version of the life she wanted, and stole Elena's identity in order to make that happen.
Was Actually The Hero: She Saved Damon
As far as anyone knew, there was no cure to a werewolf bite. However, Klaus revealed that his hybrid blood was the cure, and Stefan agreed to join up with Klaus in exchange for Klaus' blood to cure Damon's bite.
When Klaus told Katherine to bring his blood to Damon, that was her chance to escape the hybrid obsessed with killing her, but before she went on the run she actually did bring the cure to Damon, uncharacteristically risking herself to help someone else.
Proved She Was The Villain: She Killed Caroline
Katherine Pierce's body count over the course of the series was massive, and it's even larger over the course of her 500-year-long character arc. But obviously, the murder that had the biggest impact on the series was when Katherine killed Caroline.
Yes, she had a point when she said that becoming a vampire made Caroline better, but it was exceptionally brutal and unnecessary in a way that Caroline didn't deserve, and it was vengeance against Elena that she didn't deserve either.
Was Actually The Hero: When She Came Back For Nadia
Katherine wasn't exactly upfront with her emotions, and even if she truly loved someone, it was very rare that she would put someone else's wants or needs before her own.
So, when she realized that her daughter was going to die and was faced with the choice of running again or going to be with her, sacrificing herself in the process, she chose to go be with Nadia one last time.